Tag: Tony Parker

Parker adamant that he wants to remain with the Spurs

Despite reports that indicate his team is at least gauging interest from other teams about trading him, Tony Parker said Wednesday night in New York that he wants to remain a part of the Spurs franchise.

The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn caught up with Parker Wednesday night before the Steve Nash Celebrity Soccer Match in New York City. Parker is adamant about remaining with the Spurs, the only team he has ever played with during his 10-season NBA career.

“I love San Antonio. I signed for four years. I want to stay there,” Parker said in a.  

The interview was later played on television and Parker appeared steadfast that he wants to stay with the Spurs.

If Parker is traded, it would rank as one of the two biggest player swaps in the history of the franchise. Considering Parker’s role in the team’s championship history, the only other comparable move in Spurs history was the trade of  a past-his-prime George Gervin to Chicago for David Greenwood before the 1985 season.

What about it Spurs Nation?

Will Tony Parker be the starting point guard for the Spurs when the expected lockout ends next season?

And do you want to see him back playing for the Silver and Black?  

As always, I’m interested in your thoughts.

Draft prospect: Shelvin Mack

The Spurs own the 29th pick in Thursday’s draft, one of the lowest slots of the Tim Duncan era. This year’s draft pool is considered to be uncommonly shallow, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Spurs either deal the pick or select a future prospect to stash overseas. Over the coming days, the Courtside blog will profile selected players who could be wearing silver and black, should the Spurs elect to keep their pick.

Three summers ago, the Spurs took a combo guard from a mid-major Indianapolis college with the 26th overall pick. Based on his production, and the spot at which he was taken, George Hill has worked out pretty well for them.

In many ways, Butler’s Shelvin Mack comes with the same kind of resume Hill did in the summer of 2008. He’s 6-foot-3 combo guard from a mid-major school in Indianapolis.

Thanks to Butler’s appearance in two consecutive NCAA national title games, however, Mack comes with a bit more name recognition than Hill did coming out of  IUPUI.

Much like Hill before him, Mack has a nice build for an NBA point guard, but a game better suited to playing off the ball. He averaged 16 points for the Bulldogs as a junior last season, second to Matt Howard, along with 3.4 assists, but saw his shooting percentage dip to 40.8 percent.

Mack showed improvement in running the pick-and-roll game last season, which ought to boost his stock in the eyes of the Spurs, whose offense is famously pick-and-roll heavy.

The biggest thing that might keep the Spurs away from Mack at the tail end of the first round is what happened three summers ago. In Hill, the Spurs already have a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Indianapolis.

However, the Spurs do have a need for a third point guard behind Tony Parker and Hill, and if Parker at some point winds up on the trading block — as even Parker himself as speculated this summer — that need would only increase.

If Mack is still available at 29 — and he’s been projected to go anywhere from late first round to early second — the Spurs might take a look at him.

TP: “I don’t think this current team will play for the title in the future”

Tony Parker painted a sobering assessment of the Spurs franchise during a recent interview in Paris with L’Equipe and other French journalists earlier this week.

Parker told them that he doesn’t think the current makeup of the Spurs roster. (Hat tip to Sports by Brooks.com)

“I don’t think this current team will play for the title in the future,” Parker said. “We are aging. We must be realistic. It was sort of our last chance this season.”

Parker was blunt in his assessment about the Spurs, who raced to a 61-21 record during the regular season before they were eliminated in the first round of the NBA playoffs by Memphis.

“”We can’t count on trades to happen,” Parker said. “We’re going to have to rely on the draft, but Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) has made many good choices.”

Parker said he met with Popovich in a post-season meeting that was difficult for both of them.

“It was a huge disappointment for us,” Parker said. “I went to see Pop (Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich) at the training center. He was sad, Tim (Duncan), too.

“We’re all frustrated because we had a great regular season during which we dominated. But it was a tough match-up for us (against Memphis.) They dominated us inside.”

Parker, who turned 29 earlier this week, is the youngest of the Spurs’ “Big Three” that also includes Duncan and Manu Ginobili. And when he says that the Spurs’ current roster title hopes are gone, it’s a significant statement from somebody who should know about his team’s chances for success.  

Here’s a of Parker’s Paris interview (with English subtitles) along with aprovided by FIBA’s official web site.